Trespassing
by Coriana
Summary: You are hereby trespassing on the secret files of my - you may call me Gene - life. Here you will find all of those little tidbits that no one bothers to mention about me… "Puppies and Puggles" written for Hodgeheg's birthday!
1. Permission

Summary: You are hereby trespassing on the secret files of my (you may call me Gene) life. Here you will find all of those little tidbits that no one bothers to mention about me…

Word Count: 378

* * *

I, Eugene Davis, give you full permission to read this forthcoming story collection, which will contain various things from my life.

Not that you were seeking my permission to read about my life. You would have done it anyway. Admit it.

So, everything that will (eventually) come into this story would have been taken from my journal, which I started for some reason, most likely because I thought it would be cool to have a journal. Yeah, it was perhaps one of those 'if-I-ever-die-my-grandchildren-will-at-least-have-a-piece-of-me' types of moment.

My journal includes ramblings, dream entries, many things that either struck me funny or memorable in my life, or just mindless musings.

Every journal entry will be typed up and redone to an actual story arrangement. And be comforted that I have my journal with me as reference as to how a certain event went, so you at least know that there won't be any dramatic changes that only _happen_ to be in my favor.

No, I took my journaling very seriously for the years that I had done it. Except for the times when I couldn't find it in my room.

And, of course, sometimes I'll just be too lazy and will just type up the entry directly from the journal. With any little thoughts, notes, mistakes and misunderstandings included.

In these unwritten files, you will find everything from my moment of first love (which, by the looks of it, I hadn't documented too well; I didn't even write down what her name was). To the many nightmares that I have experienced – being a medium isn't all fun and games – and other random things in life that I

(a. had possibly been really bored enough to waste my time putting it into the journal, or  
(b. it had great significance to me at the time. But now, I see none of what would have inspired me to write it.

Oh, and I suppose that my brother will _most_ likely be there as well, just because he happened to be a part of a lot of this (and no, I'm not blaming anything on him).

And so, in conclusion, I hope you enjoy reading about my life (which in, probably only my opinion, I believe to be quite exciting).

-Gene Davis


	2. Rise and Shine

Word Count: 837

...

* * *

...

Two words from Hell: Potato trenches.

That's what my brother and I were doing this very fine spring morning. Really early morning. Or should I say the break of dawn?

We were both stripped to the waist as we dug out the trench with a push plow, which was just a wheel with long handles and a little plow. We kept going back and forth digging the trench (which I will sarcastically say is a great shoulder and back exercise, as mom has said), placing the potatoes in the trench, and then hoeing up the hills (another great exercise).

In my opinion, it was a tad too cold to be without a shirt this early, but our mom said that the sun would do us good for our poor skin pallor. I wanted to point out that the sun was hardly above the tree-line, but I had kept my mouth shut because she had been holding a stainless steel frying pan.

And I'm not quite sure what she means by this 'poor skin pallor'. Well, I understand if she were talking only about Noll, but I'm not sure why she looked at me, too. I have the body of a Greek god, complete with bronze skin.

Or that I have the body of a Greek statue, complete with marble white skin, as my brother would say if I had told him that description.

It's amazing that I don't hoe is toe off right now.

After we had finished the fourth row, the sun was coming up in a blazing yellow ball. I don't know why, but it reminded me of an egg yolk. Or maybe I was just hungry.

"I've just thought of what I want for Christmas," I said to Noll, who was wearing sunglasses. He looked like some man-in-black wannabe.

"And what would that be?" he said. Noll had such a way of being disinterested.

"A tractor. Then we could do this in record breaking time."

Noll took the hoe that I had been using as a leaning post. He redid a spot that I had done, which obviously had not earned his approval.

It didn't matter. I sat cross-legged on the ground, feeling that I had earned some type of break. I played with one of the potatoes that had been sitting in the box, teasing the sprouts until I accidentally broke one off. I looked up to see if Noll had noticed (I'm pretty sure he hadn't), and then I put the potato back into the box and buried the little sprout.

"You'll have forgotten about that by the time it's Christmas," he said. He dropped the hoe onto the ground and started coming towards me with the plow. I had to jump up and leap out of the way to avoid him running over me with it. That thing had a sharp spade.

"I'm surprised that you were even listening," I said. The morning sky was very blue today. I normally didn't see the morning sky unless for things like this. Noll normally woke up to see the morning sky. It might have been pretty, but the evening sky was just as nice. Or the sunset. In fact, the moon was pretty, too. And then I could get away with more sleep and still see those things.

Noll had marked the line to follow all the way across the garden. When you looked the previous rows we had done, it was easy to tell whose was whose. Noll's were perfectly straight, and mine tended to veer off course.

The garden was large and rimmed with an old, broken fence. The kind that if you lean on it just a tad it looks as if the whole thing will collapse with it. Yes, the fence needed to be replaced. I feared that it was a summer project that mom was planning for us.

"It's your turn," Noll said, pointing to the plow that was sitting oh-so-innocently where he had left it. Sitting right next to me.

I stuck my tongue out at it then pulled myself off the ground, dusting my jeans off in the process. I picked up the plow and started on the new line, pushing the spade deep into the dirt with the heel of my boot.

As I worked, Noll took the break that I had just been enjoying, drinking the cool water from the cooler we had brought, filled with ice.

Noll stood at the beginning of the line, judging how straight the line was. Then he said, "You're curving."

"If you don't like it, then you can do it yourself."

"No, I'm okay right here," he said, leaning against the fence. Which proceeded to make a loud snapping noise, then that whole section collapsed, taking Noll with it. It didn't take long for Noll to leap back up and stroll among the rows as if nothing had happened.

He said that I was off-course again, but this time, I just snickered at him.


	3. The Day I Lost my Brother

Word Count: 689

* * *

There was something about having your other-half go missing. It gives you an almost dizzy-in-your-head feel.

It's not that I haven't ever been alone before, I was fine without him not being there. But there was something about the fact that he was missing, and that I couldn't find him _anywhere_. He wouldn't even answer to my telepathy-callings.

I had seen him at breakfast, and he had told me that he was going out to the forest, to do some homework. I had been playing a game that I had recently gotten (and was thankful for the weekend, so that I could finally play it properly), and I had declined his inquiry to go with.

But it had been four hours and he hadn't returned, and wasn't answering me.

I was standing in the forest now, in a little tree canopy that we had found a few years back. We would still come here to do homework. But he wasn't here. He hadn't been on the path as I had been heading here.

My, God, he's been kidnapped. I put a hand to my mouth, and had to immediately discard the idea. It seemed too improbable. In fact, I think I would feel worse for the kidnappers after Noll had gotten to them.

So maybe he was lying somewhere dying after fending the kidnappers off, and his ghost will come back to haunt me.

I thought maybe I was exaggerating things too much in my head as I was headed back out of the forest. Once I was out, I went to the flower garden, where all of mom's roses were in bloom. The smell was intoxicating. I had a feeling Noll wouldn't have come here, because the smell would be intrusive to whatever he was doing, but I checked the pathways anyway. I enjoyed the smell and admired the roses on the way.

But he wasn't there. Which I guess wasn't a surprise.

I did a quick check of the stables, but he wasn't there either. It was just the horses lounging in the back of the barn, looking at me as if they wanted an early feeding.

I went back into the house and checked the living room and library, his bedroom, just in case he had come in when I had been outside looking for him. I gave a quick glance into my father's office as I walked passed it to the kitchen, but Noll wasn't in there.

"Mom," I said, "I think Noll has been kidnapped."

She had been whisking something, leaning over a cookbook as she did so. She looked over and gave me a smile. "Why is that, honey?"

"Well, because I can't find him. _Anywhere._"

"So that is why I saw you running around outside like a madman."

I gave her an indignant look. I felt like my pride had been stabbed. "I was not running."

"Perhaps Noll is in his bedroom."

"I checked his bedroom; he wasn't there."

"I know for a fact that he's in there."

"Well, he was not at his desk."

"That's probably because he said he was going to go back to bed."

"_Go back to bed?_ Noll went to take a nap?"

"He was up late doing his exams."

"He went back to _bed?_" I said as I spun around and headed up the stairs. When I got to his bedroom, I noticed the thing I had not been looking for; the lump in the bed.

I flipped the lights on, and the lump stirred. His head popped out from underneath the covers. "Is something wrong?" he said.

"Oh, no, nothing. When did you come back in?"

Noll picked up the alarm clock. "Three hours ago."

He had completely escaped my view when he had come back in. I folded my arms. "Right, I'll be leaving now. Don't ever think I'll care again to come looking for you, so if you get kidnapped one day, you're screwed."

"What?" Noll said as I walked out the door.

And that was the conclusion of the day I misplaced my brother.


	4. Proof Enough

Word Count: 1,216

* * *

One of the main things I remembered about this was that I was sick.

And not just a normal just-slight-dizzy-sick, it was one of those you-can-hardly-stand-up-to-make-it-to-the-bathroom sick. I was lightheaded, I wasn't thinking too clearly, didn't have an appetite or desire for anything but to sleep.

But this sickness also happened to be around a convention that I _had_ to attend to. Sick or not.

There weren't an overwhelming number of people there (but everything seems overwhelming to a sick person). It was a private convention with a no camera policy due to privacy issues, so at least I didn't have to worry about cameras right in my face every other minute.

Thankfully, I wasn't too needed for anything. So I just sat in the nearest chair and stayed there practically the whole evening. I must have had this quite dazed trance-like look to my face (or, more actually, it was just the sick to my stomach look) otherwise the question from one of the guests would never have been prompted towards me.

Although, he did have to ask the question nearly three times before I realized that he was talking to me.

"Pardon?" I said, in the middle of the repeated question.

The man halted and smiled. He had a nice smile. It was the type of smile that a wolf wears right before he kills the helpless rabbit.

"I was just asking if you were one of the mediums speaking tonight," he said.

"Oh. Yes, I am." I couldn't think of what else to say, besides maybe that I hope I don't throw up on the audience.

"Quite a hard title to uphold. But you manage it, don't you? You and your brother. Is he here tonight, as well?"

He was. And if this guy had read the honored guests, he would know that. But I had a feeling he already did.

So, I opted not to answer.

Since I was silent, the man continued for me. "A strange reputation to pick. You could be a stage magician just as easily, but with a lot less criticism. And you don't have to lie to the poor people."

"Excuse me?" I said, finally looking up at him again, after watching the mingling people in front of me. Skepticism goes long and is deep in the paranormal societies. There's never a way to please them, or to answer their questions as to psychic abilities. They expect a set-up magician's show, don't believe it when told otherwise, and then all they want to do is run tests on you until you're run into the ground.

The man – acted – shocked. "Well, what else would I be talking about? It is a reputation among mediums to prey on the weak, grieving people. Everything you offer to those people is nothing but well-educated answers and offered opinions. Then, of course, you take their money and the service is over."

Money in exchange for a reading and my time is indeed something that I do. But I never accept a check until the session is over; because you never know when you're not going to connect with the spirit. Sometimes they're too far into the astral realms to communicate with. And I'm not going to deal with letting the wrong spirit into my head.

But this was something else that I believed that man didn't need to know.

I sneezed into the cuff of my sleeve. Not because I was an unsanitary person, but because I couldn't get my handkerchief out fast enough. Or maybe I was secretly hoping that I would get to shake the guy's hand and then he would be down for two weeks with the same sickness.

But by the look of the guy's disgusted face, I didn't think I was going to get such a chance.

I stood up, which was a _lot_ harder than normal. My head surged forward and I nearly tipped into the guy.

I was about as tall as he was, so I was able to directly look into his eyes.

When I started talking, I used the same monotonous voice that Noll uses when dealing with stupid people. "Sir, I'm not asking you to believe in anything - it's your own freewill and feelings – but you can't always judge things you know nothing about."

He watched me for a moment, and then said, "Prove it."

I hated those words. They're the same words that followed me and Noll around since our powers started to come into play. All people wanted us to do was to 'prove' we could do it instead of seeing if we can.

The guy smirked at me.

"Don't mock me," I told him.

Maybe it was the feverish tone in my voice. Maybe the over-brightness in my eyes and my too pale skin. Maybe the fact that all the anger of the years those two words were said to me were embedded into the three words I said to him.

Whichever it was, the man backed down.

I turned around and walked away, my head jolting with every step.

I could feel Noll's telepathy link quivering inside my mind underneath the blank fogginess. I could feel him; but couldn't make out any words. Instead I felt the emotions of concern from him. No doubt he had felt the slap of anger coming from me in the last minute.

But I couldn't grasp onto the telepathy link to talk to him. My head was swimming.

So, I went into the hallway and sat down by the wall, pulling my legs up to my chest. I couldn't wait for the whole damn thing to be over.

I felt him approaching before I actually heard his footsteps. He sat down by the wall right next to me, mimicking my sitting position.

Now we looked like a mirror. Well, besides the fact that I looked like I was going to either sneeze, cough, or vomit – or all at the same time.

"_And you're letting something like that get to you?_" Noll asked in my head, since he was close enough that it came through clear and strong like a foghorn.

I shrugged in response.

"_Gene,_" Noll said, "_What does it matter?_"

I looked up at him.

"_What does it matter what those people think? Since when did you ever need their opinions and approval? Who cares? Why do you feel you need to prove it? Don't you think what we're doing right now is proof enough?_"

I sighed. He was right; telepathy wasn't something that everyone could just do off-handedly. In fact, the things that we could do were things that hardly anyone could do.

"_What did you tell me the other day? 'The proof always lies in the answer, but people will do with it what they will?'_"

I could not honestly remember what I had been talking about, and my words repeated back to me didn't make sense currently.

Noll rapped his knuckles on my head, which is a God awful thing to do to a sick person.

"Get over it and move on," he told me, giving me a smile.

I felt myself smiling back. Later, I'll tell him that I'm blaming this whole outburst on the fever.

And on a different note, I was feeling surprisingly better.


	5. Noll's Notes: Pt 1

Gene,

For your information due to last night's argument over dinner, there can only be one wrong and one right. I was the only right one yesterday evening. Get over it.

Also, you forgot to pick up milk for mother yesterday when you left. So, today – because you lost the argument – you can go and pick the milk up for her. If you decide not to because you're mad at me, then I will tell our parents that you came home last night all muddy. And since I know that you went driving last night, I have a feeling that you don't want to explain why you were muddy and what exactly happened to your accomplice's car.

Thank you for picking up the milk.

Sincerely,

Your Dear Brother


	6. If Walls Could Talk

Word Count: 773

* * *

Notes: As 'Fallen Quills' pointed out in a review that Gene and Noll would have British accents and tendencies (example: that would be saying 'mum' instead of 'mom'), but I regret to say that I do not believe I will be able to do this.

I am an American, and to replicate the British ways of speaking and their slang would be very difficult for me and would never be truly authentic or believable. If I was to completely immerse myself into the British culture and surround myself with the people, I might be able to sound realistic. But that is something I would maybe do for a novel, but not a fanfiction.

So, instead of stressing my writing style by trying to fill it with my unknowledgeable British customs, I'm just going to leave it be.

Thank you for understanding.

* * *

At 12:45 p.m., a lovely spring afternoon, it was sunny with a light, refreshing breeze. It made my hair move against my forehead and it tickled.

"You know," I said to Madoka, whom I was having lunch with. "Identical twins don't necessarily look the same. It's especially true when you're the identical twin of Noll."

She was chewing slowly – she always ate leisurely – her sandwich was only half-gone. I had devoured mine in less than five minutes (which might have been because I had skipped breakfast because I had woken up late and had to run out the door for school). So now I was helping myself to Noll's sandwich, since he had not wanted to join us for lunch. He was too busy studying for his upcoming entrance exams.

We were on the school grounds, and I was eternally grateful to Madoka for bringing lunch and feeding me.

"You smile more than Oliver," Madoka said, as if it wasn't obvious.

"Yes, but I meant the fact that we actually _have_ physical differences."

"Hmmm." It sounded like she was having trouble believing me.

"Really. Let me say that one of the ways to know which one of us is Noll is from his perpetually narrowed eyebrows. Doesn't he seriously look like he always is just looking for a reason to flip somebody off? It's also why I say that Naru smirks instead of smiles."

Madoka continued to eat. I had finished off Noll's sandwich for him.

"Sometimes it doesn't matter if you guys try to even look the same," Madoka told me as she ate the rest of her sandwich and put the napkins into the brown paper lunch bag. "The energies you guys set off always alerts someone as to which twin you are."

"That might work for you, Madoka, but most people aren't nearly so perceptive. Noll and I deceive people all the time."

Madoka steepled her fingers and lowered her eyebrows like Noll.

"Well, I don't mean we deceive people just for fun – well, maybe – it's more for the greater good."

Madoka did not look convinced.

"The greater good for the world?" I ventured, even though I was just grasping at the fleeting breeze.

She finally smiled, which was kind of relieving. Madoka has this sick sixth sense and I have a feeling that she's already figured out that we do it for school. But there was something about her smile that made me realize that Noll must be taking lessons from her for smiles with malicious undertones and slanted eyebrows.

I hoped she didn't tell our parents about the school thing.

I smiled at her and decided it was best to quit thinking.

"I'm thinking of growing my hair out," I said, to put the topic back on track, since it seemed to have gone off the edge of a cliff.

"What? Like a hippie?"

I laughed at the mental picture my brain offered me. "I don't think my mother would let me, and I also don't think_ I _could even handle that." I leaned back in my chair. "I was hoping for it to maybe just be a little longer around the ears. Haven't you ever looked at Noll's hair? It looks kinda like he has a bowl on his head."

Madoka laughed. "Since you guys both have the same hair style currently, you do realize that you're insulting yourself as well."

"No, I think Noll's hair is worse. It's shorter. He looks like a Beatle."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, never mind." Don't bring something like that up to an avid Beatle fan. They think you're messing with them.

"All right, now," Madoka said, "You're going to be late for class."

"There's nothing wrong with that…" I mumbled.

We started walking back to the school grounds, and I saw Noll walking back to class – he must've been in the library. He was holding a book in front of him, high enough that he couldn't see over it.

Madoka and I watched as he bumped his shoulder onto the side of the wall (really, my brother just ran into a _wall_) and we were close enough to hear him apologize to it. He kept walking on.

Madoka covered her mouth with her hand and giggled into it, trying to keep quiet since Noll obviously hadn't noticed we were here.

"I'm so using that as blackmail one day," she said.

"He won't believe you when you say he did it."

"It doesn't matter," she said still laughing. She ruffled my hair, "Good luck growing it out."

Anything to make sure I didn't look like a Beatle.

But I didn't tell her that.


	7. Mad World

Word Count: 1,009

* * *

Noll never screams when he awakens from a nightmare. But I just happen to be the one to wake up with him, because of the absolute terror that he manages to send to my brain.

I'm sitting up in my bed. I had turned the lamp that sat on my nightstand on. There were books scattered on the bed, and also papers and my favorite pen. I had fallen asleep while catching up on homework.

The light only managed to make more shadows dance around the room, shadows that are intent on grabbing you and dragging you down into hell. But even so, I felt safer in my ring of light compared to not having the lamp on.

Books fell to the floor as I pulled the covers off of me. I walked to my opened bedroom door and flicked my light switch on. There were no monsters hiding in the corners of the room, since the light exposed everything. Except for under my bed, but I was trying not to be so childish as to look underneath it.

I was quiet as I walked down the upstairs hall and then down the stairs. When I passed the grandfather clock, it read three in the morning. Everything was dark and seemed very much alive.

I kept my eyes focused on my goal. I didn't look at any of the corners, closets, mirrors, or heck, even the opened spot in the middle of the living room looked scary.

I knew there was nothing in this house, but my own imagination could fool me of that.

I turned the kitchen light on, which was still slightly untidy from dinner. The tea pot sat on the stove, and I put the back of my hand to it, feeling the warmth that still sat in the pot.

Martin had been up late working on his lecture notes tonight – I know because I had still been up studying when he went to bed. That was about an hour ago, and I was pleased that there was some leftover tea from the pot that he had made for himself.

I turned the pot on and waited for it to heat up some more. I pulled a mug out of the cabinet, and then leaned against the counter. My eyes flitted back and forth, analyzing anything that moved, not mattering whether it was real or imagined.

I sometimes had nightmares, because a spirit will be trying to show me what happened to them without any of my consent. Most of the time their stories are horrifying enough to truly make me wish I didn't have any psychic power.

But even so, I only got to watch the event unfold in my nightmares. I'm always just on the sidelines.

Noll gets to relive every nightmare with the victim.

I poured the tea and turned off the kitchen light. I carried the cup with me as I walked the stairs and opened the door to Noll's room, which was down the hallway from mine.

I didn't turn on any lights; so I had to rely on my night-vision as I walked through the room. Luckily Noll kept his room tidier than mine.

He was sitting up. He was turning something around and around in his fingers.

I held out my hand for the item, since I knew what it was. The little thing he placed into my hand was a dragonfly barrette, iridescent and eerie in the dark.

I gave him the cup of tea. He gripped the handle hard to stop his hands from shaking. He didn't drink any, yet. He just stared ahead with sightless eyes.

There was something about the black tea that seemed to soothe him after these kind of 'attacks', as I've come to call them. Food and drink are the best things that you could do after out-of-body experiences. It grounded you back to the physical world.

I placed the chair from his desk by the bed, sitting on it and not saying anything. If he wanted to talk about it, he would. Otherwise, I would rather not know what it was.

But I knew from the moment when the terror that radiated across our telepathy link, that we had lost the case.

The little girl, the owner of the dragonfly barrette, was dead.

We had been following this case for three days. We were contacted a day after she was kidnapped. If only they had called sooner, then just maybe we could have –

But it wasn't worth thinking about. It was over. I hoped that we could at least recover the body.

"_Are you okay?" _I asked, letting the thought drift across the telepathy link.

"_I'll be all right," _Noll said. He took a couple sips of the tea, just because he knew it would help calm his nerves; he otherwise wouldn't have had any.

I wanted to ask some questions, but I knew it was better to wait until after he had regained his composure. Besides, it was best for him to get as much sleep as possible, since we would have to talk to the little girl's parents tomorrow. There's nothing more energy sapping then saying there was nothing more you can do.

Noll set the tea on his desk and lay down.

I stayed by the bed as I listened to his breath even out in sleep. It was a thing Noll expected me to do – in fact, the very notion of asking me to stay beside him or for me to voice the option would undoubtedly destroy his pride.

So he never asks to stay and I never say I will.

Giving him the tea and keeping a vigil is something I want to do, since I know that he would do the same for me if I was in his position.

I rolled the dragonfly barrette around in my fingers, feeling the residue energy it was laced with.

I clenched the thing in my palm and sighed. Sometimes I wished that I was psychically ignorant.


	8. Bed in a Box

Word Count: 793

Notes: After reading one of the author's (Fuyumi Ono) short stories about Gene and Noll, I was reminded that they call Martin and Luella by their first names. Then only if they're irritated by them, do they say 'mother' or 'father'. So, you will see that change in my stories, and even 'The Not Too Distant Past' will get a revamp.

Another note: Thank you so much to RaisedOnRadio for the awesome bookcovers for The Not Too Distant Past and Trespassing! I love to just stare at them and wish that they were the covers of my real books!

* * *

I could hardly contain my excitement when the delivery man pulled into the driveway. I was doing homework and I could see the truck from my window. I left everything on my desk and ran out of my room – which was very clean. It had to be for this occasion.

I took the stairs two at a time and then walked swiftly through the living room. Noll looked up from the couch as he watched me exit the door and then bolt across the lawn.

I met the delivery man as he was shuffling the package to the end of the back of the delivery truck. I helped him get it off the ledge and onto the ground.

The package was shaped like a cylinder. It was a little over half my height and three times my width.

"So," the delivery man said, "what is it?"

Hm. It was a pretty puzzling looking box.

"It's a bed," I told him.

"In a box?"

"It's rolled up."

The conversation about ended there. He got back into his truck and started off, and I was left with trying to figure out if I was suppose to roll it to the house or attempt to carry it.

I probably could have carried it if I had Noll helping, but I didn't feel like asking. So I began to roll it to the front door.

Once I got to the door, I had to manage to hold the door open while also pushing the package inside. Noll watched from his position on the couch. Such a helpful person he was.

Once I got it in, Noll finally did say something: "You probably want to dust it off before you roll it across the rug."

Well, I guess I had just rolled it through the dust. I left without looking at him and returned with a damp towel. I wiped it down and my rag came up brown. Yikes. I almost had just rolled that over Luella's _white_ rug. Thank god the rest of the house was just wood floor, she just happened to have the rug out this week. I got another towel and dried off the rest of it.

I started pushing it again. Rolling it up the stairs was a strange thing. It wasn't that hard but it wasn't that easy either. It was all bulky but not that heavy. It was kind of obnoxious though to look down and see that I had only gone up five steps.

When I conquered the stairs, rolling it towards my bedroom was difficult. Once I was there, I slit open the box with a pair of scissors that I had on my desk.

I pulled the cardboard away from the rolled up bed (which was in turn rolled in plastic) and I threw it outside my bedroom door. I pulled the plastic off the bed and uncurled it.

The bed was basically a futon, but I would be putting it onto my bed frame instead of leaving it on the floor. And, as I told Noll, I was just getting back into touch with my roots. He told me that I should leave it on the floor, then.

The next step was to beat the bed, no matter how strange it sounded. It was to loosen the kapok and to soften the bed all around.

Noll walked by my room, carrying textbooks to his room. He paused as he saw me down on my knees, hitting the bed with my fists repeatedly.

He said, "I hadn't realized that you had bought some disguised voodoo doll."

"Very funny," I said. I was slightly out of breath since it was a lot harder to beat a bed than I had originally anticipated.

Noll shrugged and then continued to his room.

When I was finally done softening the bed, I was quite ready just to sleep on it with it on the floor. But I decided to finish the job by putting it onto the bed frame, since I had removed the mattress this morning. I grabbed the edge of the bed and started pulling it towards the frame, putting one section onto the frame and then going around and putting the other part on.

Now it was finally done. But I decided I would go and get a drink instead of lying down right away, even though it was extremely tempting.

By the time I got back up the stairs, I was met with the scene of Noll lying on _my_ bed, which _I_ had worked on, and he had not participated in _at all_.

And he was lying on my bed before _I_ had.

"I approve," Noll mumbled into the futon.

Oh, I was going to kill him.

* * *

*partially true story.


	9. 50 Ways to Say Goodbye

Word Count: 842

Inspired by the song "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" by Train.

...

* * *

...

"Gene, you know I like you, but I just don't think it's ever going to work out." She gave me a smile that I was beginning to see as sinister. "But I still want to be your friend."

Ah, that's right. Rip my heart out and stomp on it for good measure.

I tried to give her my best smile back. I didn't know if I failed or not. "That's cool. I mean, if it's how you feel, then it's how it should be."

"I'm so glad you see what I mean," she said. She was a pretty blonde, we had started going out a few months back. She had been one of my first true crushes that I had actually asked to start going out with me. Now I see that I should have known better.

"See you around," she said, picking up her bag and starting away.

I can't believe that I was just dumped in front of a library. _After_ I had helped her do her test.

So I started off to my place, trying not to drag my bag on the ground. Is this how being dumped feels? I thought it was supposed to be more heartbreaking. I feel more… ticked off. My own pride has been punctured, that's what.

"Hey, Gene," said a friend from school. I couldn't for the life of me place his name. "Where's your girl? You guys were all over each other yesterday."

The very thought of it made me do an involuntary shudder. "It was tragic. She got run over earlier by some old car." My schoolmate made a face as if I had just told him the world was ending. "I'll see you around."

And off I went.

It wasn't long before I was stopped again. "Hey, where's Stacy?" one of the guys said. I knew that he was hot for her, and was jealous that I got to her first.

"She fried. In her tanning bed."

"What? Is that possible?" he said, "What?"

"Apparently it is possible. She fell asleep and burned to a crisp. I'm recuperating now, so please leave me be."

The terrible thing to be in town on a Saturday. Everybody seemed to want to talk to you. Or want to know where your girlfriend was.

I turned on my heel and went into a store that I was only in yesterday. I pulled a small, flat jewelry box from my bag. The cashier eyed me. "Did she not like it?"

"I think she would have liked it," I said, setting it on the table with the receipt. "I was going to give it to her when she came home from the airport, but the plane that she was in went down. So now I don't have any more use for this, so I'm returning it."

The cashier looked a mixture of shocked, sorry, and horror that I was returning it so nonchalantly. "I'm so sorry about that," he finally managed to say.

He allowed the exchange to go on, and handed me back the money I had spent only yesterday. "It's okay," I told him, "I'm already over it."

I let him gnaw on that as I left the store.

I couldn't believe that I had been so infatuated. Was it the first dizzying signs of love? Or lust? Or what? Geez.

All I'll have to do is wait, right? I'll find someone who actually thinks I'm the greatest. Not just trying to get at my money. I probably should have listened to Noll when he had mentioned that to me the week I started dating her.

When I finally got home, I was so relieved. But that also meant that I'll have to tell everybody at dinner. Or maybe I could just hold it off and wait to see how long it takes before they notice that I don't have a girlfriend anymore.

Noll was on the couch, stretched out across it with his homework spread in front of and on the floor next to him.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and it rang a second later. Yeah, I always knew it would ring before it actually had yet.

"Hello?" I said.

"Gene? Did I hear that Stacy died? Are you okay?" It was my dear partner-in-crime when it came to sneaking in driving lessons. Which I had not been doing in the last few weeks. Mostly because I had seriously irritated Noll a little while before that, and I was concerned that he would snitch on me in payback. So I had forgone the whole thing entirely.

"Hm? Stacy?" I said, "Yeah, it was awful. We went to the zoo and the lion got out and ate her."

"…Seriously?"

"Do I have any reason to lie? I'll talk to you later."

I closed my phone, and Noll raised his eyebrows at me from the couch. "Did you get dumped?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No, she drowned in her hot tub. _Of course _I got dumped."


	10. Pumpkin Heads

Word Count: 534

Notes: To Hodgeheg: in the short stories that Fuyumi Ono wrote for the twins, Gene was learning to drive illegally behind his parents backs with some friends.

In the same story, there seems to be a long spat about pumpkin people, and I had to try and find a logical reason for the pumpkin part. ^^

The story can be found on KageDreams livejournal, where a good deal of my Ghost Hunt knowledge comes from (thanks to her lovely translations).

...

* * *

...

There's something that I remember from my very early childhood, which actually still follows my brother and I to this date. Unfortunately for my brother, it's not something that harms me, but it's certainly not in his favor. He tries to forget about it, but I won't let him.

In our early childhood, Noll didn't like to talk to anybody, and he would lash out at physical contact. Actually, I was the only one that was close to him. People were all stupid to Noll, and they were to be ignored and forgotten if they were of no use or interest to him. And when he actually had to acknowledge them, they only got his coldest and foulest mood. Those people learned to stop talking to him. Poor people.

I was much simpler. I either liked you or I didn't. But you most likely wanted to wish that you got onto my good side, because you wouldn't want to be on the side that hated you. It could get ugly because I'm intolerant (don't be fooled by my sweet side).

Anyway, since people were all stupid to Noll, I had to come up with a name for them. Because 'Stupid People' was boring and cliché. So after a little thinking and some deep pondering, I came up with the perfect name.

All people from here on out shall be deemed as Pumpkins.

Noll didn't quite care for_ my_ new name for _his_ stupid people (even after all the hard work that I had put into it), but I used it as reference to them. It actually wasn't long before Noll adopted the name as well.

Hey, what can you say? We were, like, seven.

So, there's the stupid pumpkin group and Noll's 'inner group', which were the people that somehow managed to get close to him. It's very hard for him to say no to these people, and I believe that these people should take advantage of this fact. I do.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one in the 'inner group', anymore. It was getting so terribly stressful (can you hear me rolling my eyes?) Now Luella and Martin have been added (that's nice, because it would have been hard to see them as pumpkins to begin with). Madoka, which I'm honestly not sure why. I don't really know if Lin is in the group. I can swear that there's more of a hate relationship between those two, but both of them are too unemotional to show it. At least, I don't think Lin is a pumpkin. Maybe he's a Squash. Or a cabbage. Hm.

Sometimes I can't help it, though, when I play the part as Noll when we switch places in school. I see his point when it comes to people who are pumpkins. They're annoying. But it's really stressful to be Noll for too long, so I don't try to think too much about pumpkins when I'm impersonating him.

Or maybe I'm just becoming too harsh. But then I do have a brother like Noll, so I should be happy that I'm not more tainted.

Because knowing my luck, I would view everybody as Jack O' Lanterns.


	11. Sibling Rivalry

Word Count: 234

...

* * *

...

There's something I have to say: contrary to popular belief, I am in fact the _older _brother.

Yes, I know that there is quite a lot of confusion concerning that, but hey, isn't it like that with every pair of twins? It's the foremost thing that twins will argue about. It's in our nature, because there's always the slight chance that you could be possibly be the oldest.

So yes, Noll will always be my little brother. Even if it is only by a few minutes.

Unfortunately, Noll is not the type of twin that you can just tease about something like this, because he doesn't care. I had to get stuck with the one twin on earth that doesn't care about if he's the youngest or the oldest. Strange thing, too. I would have never thought Noll's ego would have relented to the fact that he was younger. Maybe it's because most people think that he's the older one, so it doesn't faze him, because in everyone's eyes, he is the oldest one. Because for some reason,_ Gene_ couldn't _possibly_ be the oldest.

So thus, he doesn't care and I'm left with everybody thinking I'm younger than I really am.

Even so, I guess it really doesn't matter, because I will always be the oldest, even if no one believes me. There are some simple pleasures in life that you should never ignore.

...

* * *

Notes: It was stated by Fuyumi Ono in her doujinshi that Gene was, in fact, the older brother. Read from Kagedreams livejournal.

Sorry that this chapter is so short. xD


	12. Noll's Notes Pt 2

Gene,

Enclosed is the check that you would not accept from the couple yesterday. Just because you couldn't conclude the answers they wanted doesn't mean that you had to decline their money. They just ended up handing me the check, anyway.

And please, you are being extremely irritating with your exaggerated sighs and your all-around general moping. You are grating on my nerves and I'm going to start leaving you here from cases with Madoka if you keep acting like the end of the world is nigh whenever you get home and the case didn't go as you had planned.

Sincerely,

Noll


	13. Qigong Gone Wrong

Word Count: 1,427

Notes: Now, say this chapter's title three times fast.

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* * *

...

I remember Noll's first few sessions of qigong. Well, actually, I don't because I wasn't invited.

Not that I knew _why_ I wasn't. Maybe.

But now, a few years later, when qigong had turned into a daily ritual, Lin and Noll didn't question when I came outside to practice with them. I had certainly picked up many of the poses, positions, and names from watching; however this was actually the first time that I had wanted to join. Even though it had seemed fun at first (probably because I was forbidden to practice with them) but after watching Lin and Noll do the strange poses and movements, I decided that it was less embarrassing to watch.

So, I've only just decided to join my brother in the embarrassment. Not that he ever seems embarrassed – he actually seemed quite peaceful while he does it.

Noll and Lin practiced twice a day for two hours (they built up to that time) when they first started, because Lin said that Noll needed to get a handle on his Qi very soon. So they would do it at the two most potent times to practice qigong, which is the 'Zi' time – 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. – and the 'Mao' time – 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

It made it really easy to keep me from joining them in the beginning, because I was either sleeping in the morning, or sleeping at night. It wasn't fair, I tell you.

Now Noll only does it in the morning, the Mao time, because it's easier for him to do it for a few hours in the morning than to do both times.

And that was the reason I was up at five a.m. in the morning with them, because Noll was too stingy to do it with me at night. Now this was the earliest I had _ever_ been up.

It is very dark at five in the morning, I wonder if you all know that.

We were in the backyard, and there were little solar-powered lights surrounding the area, so that we could at least see each other. Remember, it was _really_ dark at five in the morning.

"All right, Eugene," Lin said, startling me out of my sleepwalking, "I'm going to show you some moves that are more for a beginner."

Lin never knew how offensive he could be sometimes.

"Now, just to begin everything, we're going to open the Dantien."

The Dantien, which I knew awhile ago because I remember hearing them discussing it, is the area in the body that stores the Qi that balances the body.

I mimicked their movements, and followed Lin's directions. I put my placed my hands over each other (left on the bottom, since Lin said that the right on the bottom is for female Qi) and placed it just below my navel.

The hardest was keeping my breathing steady while I slowly bent my knees along with them, breathing out. Then we slowly straightened our legs and breathed in. We did that six times.

"Noll, why don't you practice some of the last movements I taught you, and I'll work with Gene for a little while," Lin said.

Noll didn't answer, but started to go into his own string of poses.

"Okay, Gene, this one is called 'Turning the Head and Twisting the Tail'. It'll be good for your kidneys and weight."

I did not want to point out that I didn't have a tail, so instead I said, "Is there something wrong with my kidneys and weight?"

"Would you prefer me to start teaching you some moves that help with your concentration?"

"Oh, please, there's nothing wrong with my concentration."

Lin didn't answer that. Instead, he told me to stand naturally and relax my body. It mostly involved moving my arm up one way, bringing it down, and then repeating it with the other side. Hm, now I just felt sleepy.

"This one is also for the back and kidneys. It relaxes the back and eases backaches, as I remember you whining about yesterday."

Lin sounds really degrading when he says 'whining'.

"It's called 'The Beautiful Woman turns her Waist'."

I had to stare at him and seriously wonder if he was messing with me, but he was completely serious (as if he was ever anything else). So then he began to teach me how to be a beautiful woman turning her waist, which was when you put your hands on your back, on your kidneys, and then just rotated your hips in circles. I have to say, it was kind of funny seeing Lin do it.

_I would prefer seeing a beautiful woman doing this, though, instead of trying to pretend to be a beautiful woman shaking her hips, _I told Noll telepathically. He didn't seem to care about my statement; I couldn't tell if he was even listening to me.

Noll was doing some pose that made him look like a tree – as emotionless and as steady as one. Yeah, right, a tree had more emotion than Noll did.

Lin started the next move. "This one is for the spine – 'The Peeping Monkey'."

…_As opposed to 'The Peeping Tom'?_

I was starting to feel more and more undignified when the next move was 'Big Bear Stretches'. Which was another back, shoulders and neck one (I was waiting for 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'). Apparently Lin thought I had a back problem.

I threw my shoulders back, following his movements, breathing in. And then I rolled my shoulders forward and hunched my whole back, breathing out. I don't think Lin appreciated when I started making growling sounds, trying to act the part of a grizzly.

Next was 'Roc Extends its Wings'. I didn't even know what a 'roc' was, but I assumed it was a type of bird due to the movements of flying.

_First I was Big Bear Stretching, and now I'm Big Bird Stretching._

This time Noll actually gave me a dirty look. Ah-ha, he _was_ paying attention to me.

"Noll, you seem distracted," Lin said to him. It was kind of scary, actually, because I thought that most of his attention had been on me. But no, Lin is all seeing and all knowing. I'm glad I wasn't his pupil.

Then Lin gave me a pointed look, "Not that I'm surprised."

I pointed to myself and raised my eyebrows in a 'What? Me?' look.

And then Lin showed me the 'Monkey Walk'. I thought I had already done a monkey one.

"Gene," Lin said, dropping his arms to his side after he realized I wasn't paying attention. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing the 'Moonwalk'," I said, showing off my smooth moves. "I also know 'Thriller'. Do you want to see?"

"No, I would rather see you practicing the 'Cloud Steps', which might help with your concentration."

"I have perfect concentration," I said.

"I beg to differ."

And then a bigger distraction came up – it was growing light outside. I couldn't believe it.

"Why don't we end this session?" Lin suggested.

Ah, yes, like I don't know that you guys practice for two or three hours in the morning. That's okay, I'm sure there was something else I could do now that the sun was up. Or I could go back to bed.

Noll didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. He obviously preferred that I was normally sleeping at this time of day.

We did a move that closed the Dantien, bring back all the Qi and storing it there. It consisted of lifting your hands (palms up) upwards and rising onto your toes as your hands went up to your chest height, breathing in. And then you turned your palms down and you lowered yourself with your hands, breathing out.

I thought that we were finished, but there was another small section.

We all had to sit down and meditate for a few minutes.

So I sat down next to Noll and closed my eyes. At least out-of-body experiences were something that I could do and was very used to, but I didn't feel like doing it now.

_You know something?_ I asked Noll, who didn't answer._ I don't know if I could wake up at five ever again._

_Gene,_ Noll said, his first words to me all morning, _Shut up._

At least the meditation was easier to sit still through than the qigong. I was used to meditation. Once it was over, Lin let me go.

Ha. I bet I was _never_ going to be invited back.


	14. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Word Count: 890

Inspired by the song, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift.

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* * *

...

Ah, yes, I remember the first time we broke up. We hadn't seen each other in a month, because you wanted space. Right. And when I came to make amends you just broke it off with me. But that ended up as more of a scandal for you, since the whole school was convinced that you had died, in a multitude of ways.

But it did not take long for you to come back to me and swear on your grave (I think you were being sarcastic there) that you were going to change for me. Yep, and that only lasted for a day. I remember telling you I hated you, but then you called back an hour later and then we were a couple again. Geez.

A month later, we called it off again, because it was seriously _not_ working. And now, I'm assuming that you're thinking that we're just going to get back together again? Don't count on it.

But I did not know how I was going to keep that promise to myself. I was sitting there, staring at my ringing cell phone, knowing that if I answer it, we were probably going to make up again. I didn't know if I could handle that.

"Gene, if you're not going to answer the phone, turn off the ringing," Noll told me. He was sitting in the living room, with his books and homework. They were all sitting next to him on the couch, which he had decided was a better work desk than his actual desk.

I silenced the phone, for the third time. But it didn't matter – she kept calling. Unfortunately, she knows that I'll answer it eventually.

"My dear brother, I really need to ask you to do something for me," I said.

He must have heard the pleading tone in my voice. "No."

"Come on, please, I'll do anything for you for a whole month. I'll never ask you to do my homework again. I'll never bother you again when you're doing your homework. I'll do anything." I dropped down onto my knees, clasping my hands together. "Please, please, please."

"Gene, stop it."

"Please, please, please, please."

Noll snapped his book shut. "What?"

"I really need you to _officially_ break it off with Stacy for me. If I answer this stupid phone, I know that I'll just end up falling again. But I am _done _with this relationship. I mean, it's always like this, she calls me up and says 'I still love you', and we end up back together. That's why I need you to answer the phone, because you're so deadpan and serious that it won't work on you."

"You want me to pretend to be you and break up with your girlfriend. Am I understanding this correctly?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Please!"

Noll finally broke down – like I knew he would, I really shouldn't take advantage of the fact – and he took the phone from me. "What am I saying to her?"

"Just tell her that this is just, so exhausting, you know? And that we are never – ever, ever, ever – getting back together." Then I added as an afterthought, "Like, ever."

"You want me to say it with all those grammatically incorrect sentences?"

"Well, yeah, you have to sound like me."

"It's the main reason why I _don't _want to sound like you."

Then the phone started ringing.

"I can't believe I'm breaking up with someone when I don't even have a girlfriend."

"Oh, come on, Noll. Whenever do you pass up the opportunity to downgrade a pumpkin?" I told him that I would never let him forget that remark.

He answered the phone, and it nearly gave me a heart-attack, because I had to wonder why on Earth I just asked my brother to break up with my girlfriend?

"Hello?" he said. It sounded enough like me. I mean, of course he sounded like me, but I mean he actually sounded like _me_. No, never mind, I don't think that made sense.

"Gene?" she said (my ear was pressed to the other side of the phone), "I missed you."

Noll turned his head enough to give me an annoyed look. _Gene, I am going to kill you after this_, he told me telepathically.

"I didn't," Noll told her. Not quite the words I would have used.

"What?" she said.

"Stacy, let me say this only once. This time, we are never ever getting back together. Go talk to whoever you want and complain, but no matter what you do, it's over."

"But, Gene, why?"

Noll looked like he was going to throw up. "You know, I used to think that we were going to be forever, but now, this is just absolutely ridiculous and exhausting, and we are never getting back together. Like, ever."

He went off script, but I think he was doing a pretty good job for his first break-up. The real problem is that he sounded just like me, and that was concerning. I was really going to have to start working on my speech.

"You jerk! I hate you!" I heard her yell into the phone. Then she hung up. Typical.

Noll handed me the phone. "You said that you would do anything for me after that."

"Yes…"

"You are never allowed to get back together with her. Like, _ever_."


	15. The Tale of the Mini-Tool Set

Word Count: 1,148

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* * *

...

There's a story I need to tell you, but don't judge me for it. I was eight-years old at the time and was still living at the orphanage…

…

"Happy birthday, Gene," said one of the orphanage directors, handing me a little box wrapped in bright-red paper. Normally we don't get gifts, but Alex, the recent main orphanage manager, had been getting more attentive to giving a small gift to a birthday.

I grinned, and ripped the paper off of the box. Underneath the cherry-red paper was a mini-tool set. I opened it up and the surveyed the little tools with my fingers, trying to decide what I should make first.

Alex patted my head. "Don't destroy anything."

Why on earth would he think such a thing?

…

"Noll?" I said, sitting down next to the couch he had claimed. He was reading a book, holding it close to his face. We were in the play room, which consisted of a low wood table - that currently had a puzzle-in-the-works on it - and five chairs surrounding it. Four of the chairs were short, plastic things, and one was a normal-size, wooden one. One of those types of chairs that had parts that just kind of stuck together, and was held in with small screws.

It was so that the adults could pay close attention to us. And be more comfortable than in the plastic things.

There were also two armchairs in the room, so that the _other_ adults could also keep close attention to us.

But right now, the only ones in here were the two of us.

"Hm?" Noll said, not diverting any attention to me. The book he was reading was one that Alex had given to him earlier, for his half of the birthday. Though I liked to say that he only had one-third of the birthday, and I liked to claim the other two-thirds. I don't think he minded.

"What did you think of the two adults that came to meet us earlier?" I had scooted closer to one of the little wood chairs, picking through my new mini-tool case.

"Mmph," he said.

"They were nice, weren't they?"

"Yeah. Very nice. Overly so."

Noll just admitted to someone being nice. It should be added to a world record book.

"I guess they're not completely pumpkins, if you haven't forgotten about them," I said.

"Lemons, kumquats, persimmons, grapefruit. Granny Smith apples."

Apparently he thought I had asked for a list of fruit to choose from. It was fun to bother Noll while he was reading books – he didn't pay attention to what he was saying. At all.

He also decided to give me an obvious list of_ sour_ fruit. He must be trying to tell me something subconsciously.

Or maybe not.

"So, I think they were really considering adopting us – you may thank me for that," I said, my fingers selecting a different tool from the new present, and scooting over to the little wooden table.

"Thankful," Noll said. "Mostly."

"Only mostly?"

"Probably?"

"What?"

Noll didn't answer.

He was always really quiet when we met up with people, and he just kind of stared at them in cold resilience. I think he was always waiting for them to pinch his cheek or something, so he could bite their fingers.

Well, Noll really wasn't a biter. He was more likely to slap you if you intruded upon his personal space.

I don't bite or slap people. But me actually talking to you is based on whether I like you or not when you first start talking to us. I'm one of those people (even at this age) that you want to make a good first impression on.

"I liked them. They were polite and the atmosphere was really good, wasn't it?" I said.

"Atmosphere?"

"…The general energy feeling of us all in the same room?"

"Oh, yeah."

"And pie," I said. Just because.

"And the pie," Noll repeated.

We didn't have pie.

"And she had very pretty eyes, didn't she?" I continued. Because I'm evil.

"Blue. Very blue."

Actually, her eyes had been a very light purple. One of the rarest eye colors of the world.

I smiled to myself to a job well done and closed the little mini-tool set, picking it up with one hand, and holding my newfound treasures in the other. "I wonder what's for dinner…"

…

We were eating in the cafeteria – which is next-door to the playroom, you had to walk through that room to get to the cafeteria.

In fact, I had a clear view of the playroom from where I was sitting, staring straight ahead at it through the open doorway. Noll was sitting across from me, picking at his food. He looked bored.

I watched Alex walk into the playroom. He had on fancy, lace-up ankle height boots that normally took him awhile to get off, since he was very careful with the strings and didn't get lazy and try to shove them off with his other foot. He normally sat in the armchair, so I don't for the life of me know why he went to sit in the grown-up sized chair at the play table.

I knew exactly what was going to happen, and I immediately felt more stunned than guilty.

Alex sat down in the adult chair, and it promptly collapsed underneath him.

He let out a shout of pure shock and grabbed onto the little wood table to try and catch some balance. But that also went to pieces as soon as he applied too much pressure to it.

The puzzle pieces all went flying, and Alex was on the ground, with a chair and table whose screws had been carefully taken out of them.

You know, that trap was actually set for our semi-nasty watcher who always sat in that chair, but Alex's face sure was priceless.

Noll had adopted a look of sheer mystification as he listened to what happened behind him. He never turned around, but he said, "Gene, what did you do…"

"You probably should have been paying more attention to me."

"_Gene_." Alex spoke with a quiet severity that made me slouch until I couldn't be seen, since I was hiding behind my brother.

"Get in here. Now."

I got off of my seat and moseyed in there, trying to feign surprise over the extraordinary mess.

"What did you do with the screws?"

I tilted my head and tried for cute innocence. "What do you mean?"

"Go to your room. Right now."

I walked past him and headed for my room, I could hear Noll getting out of his seat and trailing behind me. He probably figured there was something more interesting in the room, anyway.

"_What did you do with the screws?_" Noll asked telepathically.

"_They're in a vent, somewhere…_"

…

I bet that Alex was probably feeling sorry for the two people that we signing papers for our adoption. They didn't know what they were getting into.

...

* * *

...

Completely dedicated to DarkDreams55! Since she provided the story about the mini-tool set and the havoc that her brother had wrecked upon his father by taking the screws out of the table and chair.

Thank you for the story, I hope you enjoy it.

A Note: The unmentioned people are Luella and Martin, though it might be obvious, I thought I should say so.

Also, Gene never got to use the tool set again, because Alex took it from him during the night. ^^


	16. Autopsy

Word Count: 499

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...

"Noll, if I happen to die before you, you better have my remains cremated. Because if I realize that you buried me underground and allowed my body to be nibbled on my maggots and other flesh-eating insects… I will come back to haunt you." I told him all that as a statement, because the very thought of bugs chewing and living in me made me cringe. I would much prefer to be a bowl of ash – besides, it sounded more dramatic. And it would be more fun for Noll to say that 'I keep my brother in a shoebox'. Or Luella could keep me in a bowl on the coffee table or something. No, wait, that one was a little too strange.

"Fine," Noll said, very much the bore. He was watching a television program, though I don't know how much he was actually watching. He looked more like he was sleeping with his eyes open.

I don't blame him. I had been watching it since the beginning with him and it really was dull.

"After –" Noll said, surprising me since I really had thought he had been sleep-talking to me, "I do an autopsy on your brain."

For a minute, the only sound between us was the noise from the TV.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Come on now, you're one of the most genuine mediums that has ever walked the earth. You can see spirits and hear them. There could possibly be a clue as to why from your brain. There must be a reason, and it's one of the only chances mankind can get…"

I now truly know what my brother thinks when he looks at me.

"I give you permission to do an autopsy on me, too," Noll finished, further freaking me out.

"I've never once thought of dissecting your brain," I told him.

He gave me a stunned look. "You haven't?"

"Ugh."

We again got quiet, since this conversation really wasn't coming to any types of agreement. Besides, I believe that this talk has scarred me for life. I was forever traumatized because my brother wanted to analyze my brain. While it was not inside my skull.

"I'm going to start locking the door to my room," I said.

Noll rolled his eyes, "Quit complaining."

I like how my brother deems that I should just embrace the fact that my brain will be autopsied on when I die. Scary.

I really regretted bringing this conversation up (actually, Noll had taken it to a completely different extreme) and I wondered how long he had been planning this. Because he was so calm about it that he obviously hadn't just decided that he would dissect my brain yesterday.

Well, I was going to make it hard for him ever to do that. If I ever died before him I will, in fact, make it impossible for him to do an autopsy.

He should have never revealed his plans to me. He really _should_ have known better.

...

* * *

...

There was a translation tidbit from the White Heart series (from KageDreams livejournal) about how Naru was mad that the police hadn't found Gene quickly enough, because he would have then been able to do an autopsy on Gene, to figure out how he saw and heard spirits. Because the body was way too decomposed by the time they found the body, much to Naru's dismay.

The rest of the SPR was then quite adamant that they didn't want to die in front of Naru, because then he'd probably try to dissect them, too. x-D


	17. Gangnam Style!

Word Count: 380

Notes: The funny thing is, is that the song wasn't out in their time. Oh, well. It's fun to modernize Ghost Hunt, a bit. ^-^

Sorry for the two short ones in a row!

* * *

…

They all said that I wouldn't be able to do it, so I had to prove them wrong.

"Oppa gangnam style!" I leapt into Noll's room and started dancing.

I had been practicing for weeks, and now I finally had it down. Noll's room just had a very convenient floor to dance on. It wasn't like I was dancing in here just to annoy him.

"Hey, sexy lady!"

Noll was being very keen in the art of ignoring me.

I still danced. "Op-op-oppa gangnam style!"

"Gene, I know you have this thing called homework that you should be doing."

Yeah, but I was too busy dancing. Once you got a hang of the leg movements, it was really fun.

"But I'd prefer to dance," I said. "Oppa gangnam style!"

Noll turned around in his chair and gave me a look of clear abhorrence. Oh, it was so much fun to get that look.

"I'll leave if you dance for a little bit," I said.

"I'd rather let you dance in my room until the end of time. I'd get used to it eventually."

"Oppa gangnam style!"

Noll sighed. And changed tactics. "You don't even know what you're saying, much less what the song is about."

I stopped dancing – not because he made me think, but because I needed to catch my breath.

"Well," I said, "I do speak Korean, you know."

"No you don't. I know for a fact that Korean is one of the languages that you don't know."

"How do you know?"

"Because you don't write in Korean."

"Hmph. Just because I don't write the language doesn't mean I can't speak it."

"But your technique is always to learn how to write the language if you're learning to speak it."

"That's not true." Actually, it was. "You have no proof."

"I can point out written papers of yours coexisting with everything you know how to speak – Why am I doing this? Go away." Noll turned back around in his chair.

"Fine," I said. I was going to have to learn Korean now. "Also – the song is about a girl."

"Brilliant deduction."

I smiled at his back. "I think I feel a song coming on…"

"Gene…"

I started dancing my way out of his room. Gangnam style.

"Oppa Gangnam Style!"


	18. The Zombie Apocalypse

Thank you so much to Ferb O. Oche for doing a manga drawing for the first chapter of 'The Not Too Distant Past'! I can't wait to see the completed version of it!

Really, people, you need to go look at it right now. It can be found on DeviantArt (the link is on my profile page) and don't even bother with this chapter. Truly, this is nothing compared to what she's doing. x-D

Thank you again!

...

* * *

...

My room was clean.

I made a face – which could only be described as the expression of 'The Zombie Apocalypse Has Finally Arrived'.

I fell to my knees in the doorway and let out a slow, long, drawn-out 'no'. Which kind of sounded something like this: "Noooooooooooo!"

Martin walked by me in the upstairs hallway, having come to get something from his room. And was probably sidetracked by my ultimate call of desperation.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at me. I was still on my knees, my satchel sitting beside me (I had just come back from the library, only to find _this _waiting for me). My room was spot-less, the floor cleared, my desk rearranged, my closet tidied, my dresser and drawers reorganized so that my drawers actually shut.

"My room," I said, reaching out my hand towards it for dramatic show. "I don't know where anything is."

Martin chuckled, "Ah, yes, Luella went right at it as soon as you left earlier."

I hung my head, my hand still outstretched. "I knew that I shouldn't have gone to the library today."

Martin patted my remorseful head. "I think you're going to be fine. It looks much better."

I peeked at it again, only to immediately drop my head back down from the awfulness of it. "I don't even recognize it."

Martin laughed as he left.

Groaning, I got back up. I dropped my book-bag in the middle of the room for some familiarly. I then proceeded to look through my closet and drawers, trying to get a feel of what Luella had done to the place. She hadn't done much to my drawers but rearrange the clothes a bit. Everything that should be on hangers was now so in the closet. The desk was funny looking and my stacks of books were properly back on the book shelf.

I sat down on my Luella-made bed. I stared at the book bag for awhile, since I knew she was going to tell me to pick it up when she got home, so I might as well do it now.

Right. I picked up the bag and put it on my desk.

Oh, Luella, you're such a cruel soul. Couldn't you have left sticky-notes on where you had put everything?

Damn, I know that I should have done it myself. She gave me enough previous warning.

Nearly three weeks of serious warnings.

Apparently I hadn't thought she would be _that_ serious.

She and Noll weren't here right now, but they'd probably be home soon. They had gone to pick up something for Noll.

Leaving me alone to get reacquainted with my room by myself.

So, that's what I did for the next half-hour. Finding and moving things around to more convenient places, and re-finding things that I had been sure had been buried forever. That was kind of cool, but I did disprove of Luella's sense of humor as to hanging up the dirty socks that she had found underneath my bed.

I had been so busy fixing things, that I hadn't even properly settled back down into being home. I was still wearing my shoes, my bag needed to be emptied, and now, instead of just hungry, I was starving. I didn't notice when Luella and Noll got home, until, of course, Noll stopped to look at what I was doing in my room. I dropped my library books when I saw him, grinning evilly.

Noll narrowed his eyes. Behind the glasses.

Noll and Luella had gone to pick up his glasses today, because he was having trouble seeing close up, messing up his reading binges. It's not that the glasses looked bad on him (because that would be admitting that I would look bad in them). He just looked _funny_ in them.

My wicked, bemused smile showed exactly how I felt.

"Wow," I said, "Don't you look like some librarian nerd."

Noll said drily, "Gene, can I borrow that textbook later, since the paper is due tomorrow?"

My smile fell, while simultaneously, my mouth fell open.

Now that he mentions it, I haven't come across that book…

And I haven't _done_ that paper, either.

Noll gave me a cocky smile back. "If you happen to find it, that is."

I pursed my lips and tried to smile, but it came out more as a repressed scowl. Noll headed to his own room before I could ask if I could 'see' his homework, which he had undoubtedly done.

Luella replaced Noll in the doorway, giving me an expectant smile. "What do we say?"

I gave her a full smile. "Thank you, mother, it's so nice not knowing where anything is."

"Well, I warned you."

"Yes, indeed you did…"


	19. Puppies and Puggles

Happy belated birthday to Hodgeheg! Thanks for waiting for so long. x)

...

* * *

...

Today (in my opinion) was a big day.

But only in my opinion.

Because today Luella and Martin finally said that I could get some type of pet. As long as it's something manageable and clean. I think they were implying that I should just get a hamster or something.

No, no. That's far too simple for me. I wanted something like a ferret or a cockatoo. A parrot or maybe a flock of finches. Actually, I really wanted a bearded dragon. And that's not a real dragon, unfortunately, just a simple lizard. Now an iguana on the other hand would be really cool…

Though there's nothing wrong with a dog, but I would need to get a smaller dog (certainly not a German Shepherd, like I want) so that it would be easy to wash and keep clean. Maybe I'll get a cat – like an Exotic Shorthair or something. The only problem with getting cats is that they might eat the finches.

Honestly, though, what I really wanted was something a _little_ _more_ out there…

"I think…" I said to Noll, "I want a puggle."

He, understandably, answered with, "A _what_?"

"A puggle. It's a baby platypus."

"Of course…"

"Come on, isn't that the cutest name ever? They just sound adorable."

"I will probably bet you that they're not."

"No, they are – look."

Noll, being the boring person he is, did not look at the picture of them in the book I was holding.

"You know," I said, "I probably wouldn't mind getting a bat or a koala…"

"Maybe, Gene, you're better suited going to work at the zoo."

I perked up. "That would be fun."

Noll just shook his head. "I believe that a dwarf hamster is more suitable to you."

The thought of a cute, little hamster was tempting. I could carry it around in my shirt pocket, or on top of my head. Well, probably not the last one.

I was flipping through a book of exotic animals (yes, truly shouldn't be the book that someone looking for their first pet ought to be reading) when I came across a really funny looking animal.

I said, "I want a hodgeheg."

"And what is that? An estranged version of a hedgehog?"

"I have no idea."

…

So, a week later, I didn't have any of the above listed animals. Nope, I couldn't seem to manage to win any of those arguments, because Luella and Martin's always made more sense. Though I was seriously thinking about working at a zoo at some point in my life.

Instead, I now had a small tank with two Fancy Goldfish in it. So, they're a lot bigger than regular goldfish and cooler looking. Though I always feel like the one just stares at me for no reason as I do my homework and, I'm pretty sure, when I sleep. It's kind of unnerving.

So, I appropriately named it Stalker, because it seemed really fitting and I can _always _tell which one it is. I called the other one Dummy, because he spends his days swimming in circles in the tank until he creates mini-whirlpools. I think he enjoys the rushing feeling of getting caught in it.

I can't even have normal _fish_, can I?


End file.
